I should know by now
there is no arguing once
that door within me
closes and reason has no
sway. I can only
know for certain something I
can’t even name won’t
let me keep on doing things
in my old familiar way.
JDG
Two
Day starts
No sun
Much work
No fun
~
Day ends
Sliced moon
Deep sigh
Rest soon
JDG
Choice Point
After before and before after,
in just this moment
when past, present, and future meet,
this is when we choose
to claim or deny
what once was,
what now is,
and what still may be.
JDG
The Strange Contraction of Time
On this early September day
as she drives past the spot
where she boarded the bus
twelve short years ago
in her new black and white checked dress
with its large white collar
and tiny red bow,
I am suddenly aware
of the strange contraction of time.
JDG
Enriched
A hidden hand scattered gold
all along the road
and left the fields aglitter.
How can I feel poor
surrounded as I am with
such a natural offering?
JDG
Savoring
Savor the moment
the poets say, and as I watched
those three sisters walk,
arm-in-arm up the gravel
road toward the mailbox
trailed by two large dogs and one
small cat, savor it I did.
JDG
Though We Know
Though we surely know
before we even pick up
a pen and begin
that we won’t succeed, that we
can’t succeed, that our
small marks on the page never
will contain the flame
that runs so brightly through
the heart of things, still we try.
JDG
Ablaze
Just before the sun
makes its closing descent, it
sets the trees ablaze,
scatters sparks across the pond,
bids a fiery farewell.
JDG
What We Now See
“We’ll see,” my father used to say,
buying himself some time and giving us
an opportunity to wait and hope.
We knew then that even a little push would bring a “no”.
What we didn’t see then, but what we see now
is the true and proven worth of “We’ll see”.
JDG
This Small Patch Of Earth
This small patch of earth
is more than enough for me,
filled as it is with
rabbits, ravens, raccoons, deer,
hummingbirds and bees,
squirrels and dogs, cats and kids,
and sometimes even skunks.
JDG
